Georgia operates under the Georgian Orthodox Church, which holds constitutional recognition as an institution of special importance in the country's history. The church claims continuous presence since the fourth century when King Mirian III adopted Christianity as the state religion in 337 AD following the missionary work of Saint Nino of Cappadocia. The 2014 census recorded 83.4 percent of the population identifying as Georgian Orthodox, with Islam at 10.7 percent, Armenian Apostolic at 2.9 percent, and Catholic at 0.5 percent. The patriarchate seats its administrative center at the Sioni Cathedral in Tbilisi, though the symbolic spiritual center remains Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta, built in the eleventh century on a site claimed to hold the robe of Christ. The current head of the church, Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II, has held office since 1977 and maintains influence extending beyond religious matters into public discourse on family structure, demographics, and education policy.
Church attendance patterns in Georgia follow regional and generational divisions rather than uniform national practice. The patriarchate does not publish official attendance statistics, but independent surveys conducted by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers between 2010 and 2021 show weekly church attendance ranging from 12 to 18 percent of self-identified Orthodox believers. Major religious holidays produce substantially higher participation rates. Easter services at major churches in Tbilisi, Kutaisi, and Batumi draw congregations that exceed building capacity, with overflow crowds gathering in adjacent courtyards and streets. The traditional Easter greeting "Christ is risen" with the response "Truly He is risen" remains standard social exchange during the holiday period regardless of individual religious practice. Christmas observance occurs on January 7 following the Julian calendar, with the liturgical celebration known as Bedzedoba drawing more active participation than secular New Year festivities on January 1.
The liturgical calendar structures multiple aspects of Georgian daily routine beyond Sunday observance. The church designates approximately 220 days annually as fast days under traditional interpretation, though actual adherence varies significantly by individual and region. The Great Fast before Easter spans 48 days and requires abstinence from meat, dairy, eggs, and fish, with plant-based oils permitted only on Saturdays and Sundays. The Assumption Fast runs August 1-14, the Dormition Fast spans November 15 through December 31, and weekly fasting occurs on Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the year. Urban supermarkets in Tbilisi stock dedicated sections labeled "samartlo" containing products that meet fasting restrictions, particularly prominent during the weeks before Easter. Traditional Georgian cuisine aligns extensively with fasting requirements through dishes like lobio, pkhali, and ajapsandali, which contain no animal products in their standard preparations.
Name day celebrations hold equal or greater social significance than birthday observance for many Georgian Orthodox believers. The church calendar assigns patron saints to specific dates, and individuals named for these saints treat the associated day as a major personal celebration. Giorgi, the Georgian form of George, represents the most common male name, with the corresponding name day falling on November 23 for Saint George of Ilia. Georgian families typically host open houses on name days, where visitors arrive throughout the day without prior invitation, bringing wine and sweets. The host provides a spread of traditional foods, and guests may stay for extended periods of conversation and toasting. This practice operates independently of age, with name day celebrations continuing throughout life rather than diminishing in adulthood.
The supra, a traditional Georgian feast accompanied by extended toasting, incorporates religious elements even in otherwise secular contexts. The tamada, or toastmaster, follows a prescribed sequence that typically begins with toasts to God, peace, and the gathered company before proceeding to more specific subjects. The first toast traditionally addresses the reason for gathering, followed by toasts to parents, ancestors, the deceased, children, women, and friendship. Each toast requires a full glass of wine, drunk in one continuous motion without setting the glass down, though participants may abstain by explaining their reasons to the tamada. The toasting structure derives from pre-Christian Georgian tradition but absorbed Christian references during the post-conversion period, creating a hybrid form that operates across religious and secular contexts. A typical supra in Kakheti wine country may extend five to seven hours and involve 20 to 30 formal toasts.
Religious education enters Georgian public schools through an optional subject called "History and Fundamentals of Orthodox Christianity" introduced in 2005 for students in grades 4 through 12. The curriculum covers Georgian church history, basic theological concepts, and liturgical practice rather than serving as devotional instruction. Enrollment figures from the Ministry of Education show participation rates varying by region, with rural areas in eastern Georgia showing higher enrollment than urban centers or western regions. Alternative ethics courses exist for students who decline religious instruction, though implementation quality varies significantly between schools. Private religious schools operate under church administration in major cities, with the Ilia Chavchavadze School in Tbilisi educating approximately 400 students from kindergarten through 12th grade under direct patriarchate oversight.
The Georgian Orthodox Church maintains complex relationships with minority religious communities. The 2002 concordat between the Georgian state and the patriarchate grants the church tax exemptions, property rights, and privileged legal status not extended to other religious organizations. Religious minorities can register as nonprofit organizations but face different legal treatment than the Orthodox Church. The Muslim population concentrates primarily in Adjara, where Islam arrived during Ottoman rule from the 16th to 19th centuries, and in the southern Samtskhe-Javakheti region. The Batumi central mosque, built in 1866, serves as the primary Islamic worship site in Adjara, though religious practice in the region blends Islamic observance with Georgian cultural traditions distinct from patterns in nearby Turkey or Azerbaijan. Muslims in Adjara typically observe Ramadan and major Islamic holidays while simultaneously participating in Georgian Orthodox cultural events and maintaining Georgian language use in religious education.
The Armenian Apostolic community operates 10 active churches across Georgia, with the largest concentration in Tbilisi and the Javakheti region where ethnic Armenians comprise approximately 90 percent of the population. The Surp Gevork Armenian Church in Tbilisi dates to 1251 and continues regular services in Classical Armenian. Relations between the Georgian and Armenian churches include both cooperation and territorial disputes, particularly regarding the status of medieval churches in mixed ethnic regions. The Khujabi Church in Akhaltsikhe changed hands between the communities multiple times during the 20th century based on shifting demographic and political conditions. The Catholic community in Georgia numbers approximately 20,000 and includes both Latin Rite parishes and a small Armenian Catholic population. The Cathedral of the Assumption in Tbilisi, rebuilt in 2000 after Soviet-era destruction, serves as the seat of the Apostolic Administration of the Caucasus.
Judaism maintains continuous presence in Georgia through two distinct communities with separate origins and practices. Georgian Jews, known as Kartveli Ebraeli, trace their presence to the Babylonian captivity period and developed distinctive liturgical traditions and a Judeo-Georgian language. The Great Synagogue in Tbilisi, opened in 1903, represents the architectural center of this community, though the congregation declined from approximately 100,000 in 1970 to under 3,000 by 2020 due to emigration to Israel. Ashkenazi Jews arrived primarily during the 19th and 20th centuries and maintain separate congregational structures. Both communities observe kosher dietary laws, though access to kosher meat in Tbilisi requires coordination with specialized importers or travel to specific approved sources in neighboring countries. The Passover seder in Georgian Jewish tradition incorporates distinctive elements including a green onion ritual representing the passage through the Red Sea and specific Georgian wine varieties prescribed for the four cups.
Religious pilgrimages follow established routes connecting major church sites across eastern Georgia. The Mtskheta pilgrimage includes both Svetitskhoveli Cathedral and Jvari Monastery overlooking the confluence of the Mtkvari and Aragvi rivers. Pilgrims traditionally walk the 2.5 kilometer path from Svetitskhoveli to Jvari, ascending approximately 150 vertical meters through a series of switchbacks. The church calendar designates October 14 as Mtskhetoba, the feast day of Svetitskhoveli, when attendance swells beyond 20,000 pilgrims. The Alaverdi Cathedral in Kakheti draws pilgrims on September 28 for the feast of Saint George, with traditional celebrations including grape harvest blessings and wine sanctification. The Gelati Monastery near Kutaisi serves as a pilgrimage destination particularly for scholars and students due to its historical role as a medieval academy founded by King David the Builder in 1106.